NewsWire: De Gendt’s bachelor party, no broken ribs for Sanchez

In our daily NewsWire, we bring you a collection of the intriguing stories from newspapers, journals and elsewhere around the world of competitive cycling. Pour your coffee, mute your phone and read on.

Samuel Sanchez’s Tour participation not in danger — NUSport

Samuel Sánchez will be able to ride the Tour de France and defend his Olympic title despite a nasty crash during the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Monday. Team doctors were concerned that the 2008 Olympic champion may have sustained broken ribs in the fall, but X-rays sunday night revealed no broken bones, only bruising.

Thomas de Gendt even rides at his bachelor party — Het Nieuwsblad

Even the bachelor party of Thomas de Gendt, third in this year’s Giro d’Italia, involved bikes. The Belgian, who is set to be married on June 30, went out with five friends in Oudenaarde, Belgium, on Saturday night. As part of the games, he was forced to ride a folding bike around the town center, eat a hamburger in one gulp, and collect the phone numbers of various girls.

“Mission Accomplished,” said De Gendt. “And we were not too crazy. I was laying in my bed at two o’clock. The following day I did not feel really great, but it was all under control.”

Coppel’s second: a taste of defeat and a breath of fresh air — L’Equipe

Jérôme Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) narrowly lost out to Cadel Evans at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Monday, unable to overtake the Australian to win out of their late, three-man breakaway. The narrow defeat was slightly bitter for the Frenchman, but at the same time was a successful test against the very best leading up to the Tour de France.

“It was the strongest who won,” said Coppel. “I knew the last corner, I knew I had to leave a little room to avoid having to restart. I tried to hit the pedals but it wasn’t enough.”

“I came here looking for confidence, a good result, and to calibrate myself against the other favorites,” Coppel added. “To finally face the real favorites, to see where I am compared to them.”

To that end, Coppel and his second-division team have to be pleased with his stage 1 performance.

“I have no strategy, I take it day-by-day,” he said. “At the end of the Dauphiné, we will take stock and see what we need to fix.”

In an opinion piece for the Boulder Daily Camera, Celestial Seasonings and Red Zinger Classic founder Mo Siegel called for an intact finish for stage 6 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. A group of local citizens is protesting the finish at the amphitheater midway up Flagstaff Mountain due to potential resource damage from fans in the area. The Boulder City Council will on Tuesday night address the stage finish and local advocates have called for supporters to attend the meeting.